Tag Archives: stakeholders

The Learning Toolbox Chronicle is a collection of articles on the work of the Construction pilot of the Learning Layers project. The co-design process that was initiated in 2013 by the project partners from the training centre Bau-ABC Rostrup has led to the development of the integrative toolset Learning Toolbox (LTB) to support online learning and knowledge sharing.

The articles of Vol. 2, 2015 report on activities of the third year of the Learning Layers project Construction pilot that paved the way for the piloting with the Learning Toolbox in the fourth year of the project.

In April 2015 the application partner Agentur experienced a highlight when the joint exhibition and office building of the organisations for ecological construction work (Agentur, NNB and NZNB) was inaugurated. In this context the Learning Exhibition “nachhaltig.bauen.erleben” (sustainable.construction work. lived experience) was opened.

In May 2015 the application partner Bau-ABC organised its annual Training Days for training its own staff. In this context the research partners ITB and Pontydysgu were invited to organise workshops to explore the use of Learning Layers tools – in particular of the Learning Toolbox – with Bau-ABC trainers and continuing vocational training coordinators.

In June 2015 the research partners ITB and Aalto organised a meeting with Finnish promoters of apprentice training to share information on the Learning Layers pilots in construction sector (in Finland and Germany) and to discuss the developments in Finnish apprentice training.

In September 2015 the developers of the Learning Toolbox launched the public Beta version via Google Playstore. This was was combined to a field visit to Bau-ABC (with ITB and Pontydysgu) and to a workshop in Bremen International Vocational Education and Training conference.

In September 2015 the research partners ITB and Pontydysgu participated in the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER 2015) in Budapest. Here the Learning Layers project was presented in an ITB-led symposium that brought the project into dialogue with two other projects working with digital media and web resources as support for learning.

In September 2015 the research partners ITB and Pontydysgu received a 14-person delegation from Singapore Workforce Development Agency, led by the Chief Executive and Chief Research Officer. The working meeting with the delegation focused on the development of Learning Layers tools and their use to support learning in workplace contexts. The visitors informed of their new innovation program iN.LEARN 2020.

The research partners ITB and Pontydysgu had a working meeting with Singapore Workforce Development Agency. The delegation was led by Chief Executive Ng Cher Pong and Chief Research Officer Gog Soon Joo and consisted of 12 participants (from the agency, from the Ministry of Manpower and from partner organisations). The delegation was on European tour and their main target in Germany was a meeting with Learning Layers project in Bremen.

In the first part of the meeting the ITB team presented information on the Learning Layers project (with emphasis on the construction pilot and on the development of the Learning Toolbox). In addition Dirk Stieglitz from Pontydysgu internet demonstration that showed, how the Learning Toolbox can be co-developed by the users by designing tiles, pages and stacks (for managing contents, web resources and communications).

In the second part of the meeting the visitors informed us of the vocational education and training (VET) system in Singapore, on the role of public authorities, of their agency and of public-private partnerships as well as private-private partnerships. They emphasised that the key instrument for developing VET and continuing training is not seen in regulations but in the financing of training (e.g. via vouchers and other arrangements). From this point of view the visitors were keen to learn more on the the German dual system, on the partnership arrangements and on the commitment of enterprises to training. In addition they were very interested to learn more of the further deployment of the Learning Toolbox.

The visitors informed that the government of Singapore has approved to launch the Innovative Learning 2020 (iN.LEARN 2020) project of the agency and of the Singapore Institute of Adult Learning. The iN.LEARN 2020 is a multi-year national project with the goal of shaping learning design and it starts in October 2015. The visitors expressed their willingness to maintain contacts with the Learning Layers projects and are looking forward to next encounters.

Research projects on Information and Communication Technologies are often being criticized for overly emphasizing technical issues at the expense of considerations for where and how the technologies should be employed. The Learning Layers project is quite different in this respect as only roughly half of the overall budget will go into researching and developing technology. Continue reading →

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am preparing brief reports of field visits that took place this week as a part of the Application Partner Days (APDs) of the Learning Layers (LL) project. This blog article focuses on the visit to the training centre area of Bau ABC in Rostrup (West of Bremen).

As we have been informed in the project, Bau ABC is one of the two major training centres set up by the umbrella organisation of building and construction sector in North Germany (Bauindustrieverband Niedersachsen-Bremen) and it is run as an operative arm of a support association for training in building and construction sector (Verein zur Berufsförderung der Bauwirtschaft Nord e.V.). The training centre Bau ABC in the municipality of Rostrup covers a wide range of occupational fields including initial VET (Erstausbildung), continuing training (Weiterbildung), training of Master Continue reading →

My previous posts on the Learning Layers (LL) project raised the question: “What can we learn during on-site-visits?” At that time the ITB team was busy doing interviews with application partners from the North German construction sector. The first results were rapidly prepared as draft User Stories for further analyses. In this context the quick blog articles served as ‘appetizers’ for other partners: “Here is your chance for a sneak preview before live visits.”

Earlier this week a considerable number of LL partners were visiting the training centre area of Bau ABC in Rostrup and the premises of Agentur für Nachhaltiges Bauen and its sister organisations in Verden. The visitors had prepared themselves with the help of the User Stories and the hosts had taken initiatives to bring the discussion further. So, after this shared experience it is appropriate to ask: “What have we learned during the Application Continue reading →

In December 2012 I started a series of blogs for the Learning Layers (LL) project with the question “What can we learned during on-site-visits“. In the first article I summarised my first impressions from a field visit of the ITB team to the work site of our partner organisation Agentur für Nachhaltiges Bauen. This visit (and the interviews we recorded) gave us a much richer picture of the special area ‘ecological construction work’ and of the innovations that our partners are pushing ahead in this field.

Now, in January 2013, the ITB team has started its work for LL with further field visits (including audio/video recorded interviews) to the sites of our partners in the North-German construction cluster. Yesterday I and my colleague Werner Müller visited the training centre BauABC Rostrup at Bad Zwischenahn (near Bremen). During our visit we had a quick look at some of the worksites Continue reading →

My latest blog postings on Learning Layers focused on lessons to be learned from predecessor projects. We still need to follow that track. There is surely something to be discussed when we get statements from colleagues who have been involved (and taken the opportunity to think aloud about their learning gains).

However, now the current phase of the Learning Layers is pushing forward the on-site visits and the work with interview materials. At the moment we are just making the very first interviews and the editing of recordings and the detailed analyses are on the agenda in January 2013. Yet, already at this point it is worthwhile to consider, what we (as researchers) can learn during the on-site visits when talking to people who know their trade (and the issues to be studied) via their own practical experience.

Three members of the ITB team visited earlier this week our Application Continue reading →

The Learning Layers project is supported by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme under Grant Agreement #318209, under the DG Information society and Media (E3), unit of Cultural heritage and technology-enhanced learning. Email us at: layers@learning-layer.eu